In the second installment of author Dana Dratch's Red Herring Mystery series, freelance reporter Alex Vlodnachek has her hands full trying to score enough assignments to pay her bills. So does her brother, Nick, currently living with her while struggling to get his catering/baking business launched. When someone breaks into Alex's house and leaves a jaw-dropping surprise, the two are forced to call in their unflappable Russian grandmother, Baba, to help. As the elderly woman deals with the unexpected present, Alex adds several more mysteries to her list of things to solve.
She's happily interested in furthering her (hopefully romantic) relationship with Ian, the handsome British B&B owner across the street. But she's far less delighted by the very dead, and very cold, corpse she discovers in his basement freezer--a corpse that almost immediately vanishes. Meanwhile, Ian needs Alex's help discovering where his father, the B&B's erstwhile butler, has disappeared to. While searching for clues, Alex begins to suspect the father may be involved in art theft. Or perhaps art forgery. Apparently, the possibilities are endless. Did Ian's father flee to escape the law? And does the frozen body have anything to do with him going missing? More importantly, can Alex solve all the burning questions before she herself disappears?
Former newspaper reporter Dana Dratch delivers a delightful cozy that pairs well with the first installment or can be read on its own. Witty dialogue with laugh-out-loud moments, well-drawn characters and multiple mysteries weave their way through this satisfying story. --Lois Faye Dyer, freelance reviewer